John Oliver Leaving The Daily Show For HBO

Oliver, the longtime comedian at the Daily Show who hosted the show while regular host Jon Stewart took a hiatus to work on a feature film, will headline a weekly comedy show on HBO which will launch in 2014.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining HBO, especially as I presume this means I get free HBO now. I want to thank Comedy Central, and everyone at ‘The Daily Show’ for the best seven and a half years of my life,” Oliver said in a statement, according to E! Online on Thursday. “But most of all, I’d like to thank Jon Stewart. He taught me everything I know. In fact, if I fail in the future, it’s entirely his fault.”

Oliver had been a correspondent and writer for the Daily Show since 2006, according to the Los Angeles Times.

HBO’s president said the channel was impressed with Oliver’s performance when he covered for Stewart.

“We weren’t otherwise searching for another weekly talk show, but when we saw John Oliver handling host duties on The Daily Show, we knew that his singular perspective and distinct voice belong on HBO,” HBO president Michael Lombardo said according to E!.